23/…The deteriorating situation of human
rights in the Syrian Arab Republic, and the
recent killings in Al Qusayr

The
Human Rights Council,

Guided by the Charter of
the United Nations,

Having held an urgent
debate to discuss the deteriorating situation of human rights in the Syrian
Arab Republic, and the recent killings in Al Qusayr, which is currently under
siege by the Syrian regime,

Recalling General Assembly
resolutions 66/176 of 19 December 2011, 66/253 of 16 February 2012, 66/253B of
3 August 2012, 67/183 of 20 December 2012 and 67/262 of 15 May 2013, Human Rights Council resolutions
S-16/1 of 29 April 2011, S-17/1 of 22 August 2011, S-18/1 of 2 December 2011,
19/1 of 1 March 2012, 19/22 of 23 March 2012, 20/22 of 6 July 2012, 21/26 of 28
September 2012 and 22/24 of 22 March 2013, and Security Council resolutions
2042 (2012) of 14 April 2012 and 2043 (2012) of 21 April 2012,

Recalling the press
release by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on 10 May 2013,
in which she expressed alarm at reports of major military build-up around the
western Syrian town of Al Qusayr, and stated that she feared further atrocities
and increasing displacement of the local civilian population,

Reaffirming its strong
commitment to the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of
the Syrian Arab Republic and to the principles of the Charter,

1. Strongly
condemns all violations of international humanitarian law and the
widespread and systematic gross violations of human rights and fundamental
freedoms by the Syrian authorities and the Government-affiliated militias, such
as those violations involving the regime’s use of ballistic missiles and other
heavy weapons against civilians in the Syrian Arab Republic, including against
the people of Al Qusayr;

2. Condemns
all violence in the Syrian Arab Republic, irrespective of where it comes from,
and calls upon all parties to immediately put an end to all forms of violence,
including terrorist acts and acts of violence or intimidation that may foment
sectarian tensions, further condemns all human rights violations and abuses and
calls upon all parties to comply strictly with their obligations under
international law, including international humanitarian law and international
human rights law;

3. Calls
upon the Syrian authorities to meet their responsibility to protect the
Syrian population and to put an immediate end to all attacks against the
civilians of Al Qusayr;

4. Stresses
the need to ensure accountability for those responsible for the massacre in Al Qusayr,
and further stresses that those responsible for the serious violations of
international humanitarian law and international human rights law in the Syrian
Arab Republic must be held to account; reaffirms that the Syrian people, on the
basis of broad, inclusive and credible consultations should determine, within
the framework provided by international law, the process and mechanisms to
achieve justice, reconciliation, truth and accountability for gross violations,
as well as reparations and effective remedies for victims, while underlining
the relevance of referrals to the appropriate international criminal justice
mechanism under appropriate circumstances;

5. Condemns
the intervention of foreign combatants fighting on behalf of the Syrian regime
in Al Qusayr, and expresses deep concern that their involvement further
exacerbates the deteriorating human rights and humanitarian situation, which
has a serious negative impact on its region;

6. Demands
that the Syrian authorities allow free and unimpeded access by the United
Nations and humanitarian agencies to all civilians affected by the violence,
especially in Al Qusayr, through all effective routes, including by providing
authorization for cross-border humanitarian operations as an urgent priority;
and urges all parties to protect medical personnel, facilities, and transport
as such;

6. Requests
the Commission of Inquiry to urgently conduct a comprehensive, independent and
unfettered l inquiry into the events in Al Qusayr and also requests the
Commission to include the finding
of the inquiry in its report to
the Human Rights Council at its 24th
session.

7. Decides
to remain seized of the matter and to take further action on the situation of
human rights in the Syrian Arab Republic.

Recalling
its
resolutions 66/176 of 19 December 2011, 66/253 A of 16 February 2012,
66/253 B of 3 August 2012, and 67/183 of 20 December 2012 and Human
Rights Council resolutions S-16/1 of 29 April 2011, S-17/1 of 23
August 2011,1 S-18/1 of 2 December 2011,2 19/1 of 1 March 2012,3
19/22 of 23 March 2012,3 S-19/1 of 1 June 2012,4 20/22 of 6 July
2012,5 21/26 of 28 September 20126 and 22/24 of 22 March 2013,

Recalling
also Security
Council resolutions 2042 (2012) of 14 April 2012 and 2043 (2012) of
21 April 2012,

Recalling
further all
resolutions of the League of Arab States relating to the situation in
the Syrian Arab Republic, in particular resolution 7595 of 6 March
2013, in which the League reviewed the very serious situation in the
Syrian Arab Republic due to the escalating violence and killings in
most of the Syrian territory, and the continuation of grave
violations of human rights by the Syrian authorities using heavy
weapons, warplanes and Scud missiles to bomb neighbourhoods and
populated areas, which has seriously increased the number of victims,
caused human displacement inside the Syrian Arab Republic and an
influx of thousands of Syrians to the neighbouring countries fleeing
violence, which targets children and women who have been subjected to
frightful massacres, threatening thus to lead to the collapse of the
Syrian State, and endangers the security, peace and stability of the
region,

Recalling
Organization
of Islamic Cooperation resolution 2/4-EX (IS) of 15August 2012 on the
situation in the Syrian Arab Republic, in which the Organization
called for the immediate implementation of the transitional plan and
the development of a peaceful mechanism that would allow the building
of a new Syrian State based on pluralism and a democratic and
civilian system, where there would be equality on the basis of law,
citizenship and fundamental freedoms,

Expressing
grave concern at
the continuing escalation of violence in the Syrian Arab Republic, in
particular the continued widespread and systematic gross violations
and abuses of human rights and violations of international
humanitarian law, including those involving the continued use of
heavy weapons and aerial bombardments, such as the indiscriminate use
of ballistic missiles and cluster munitions, by the Syrian
authorities against the Syrian population, and the failure of the
Government of the Syrian Arab Republic to protect its population,

Expressing
outrage at
the rapidly increasing death toll of at least 70,000 casualties in
the Syrian Arab Republic, as reported by the United Nations High
Commissioner for Human Rights on 12 February 2013,7

Recalling
the
statements made by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human
Rights before the Human Rights Council and the Security Council that
crimes against humanity are likely to have been committed in the
Syrian Arab Republic, stressing that the Syrian authorities have
failed to prosecute such serious violations, and noting the repeated
encouragement by the High Commissioner to the Security Council to
refer the situation to the International Criminal Court,

Welcoming
the
extension of the mandate of the independent international commission
of inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic, and deeply regretting the
lack of cooperation of the Government of the Syrian Arab Republic
with the commission, in particular the persistent denial of access of
its members to the Syrian Arab Republic,

Expressing
concern at
the occurrence of grave violations against children in the Syrian
Arab Republic, that children were among the victims of military
operations carried out by Government forces, including the Syrian
armed forces, intelligence forces and shabbiha
militias,
and that children were victims of killing and maiming, arbitrary
arrest, detention, torture, ill-treatment and sexual violence, and
were used as human shields and recruited and used in the conduct of
hostilities in violation of international law, welcoming the intent
of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children
and Armed Conflict to pay a second visit to the region, demanding
that all parties grant her full and unfettered access to all areas in
the Syrian Arab Republic, and calling on neighbouring countries to
provide her with all necessary assistance,

Expressing
concern at
the vulnerable situation of women in the Syrian Arab Republic,
including being subjected to discrimination, sexual and other
physical abuse, violation of their privacy and arbitrary arrest and
detention in raids, including to force their male relatives to
surrender, recalling that such acts of sexual and gender-based
violence could amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity,
underlining the importance of preventing all sexual violence and
violence based on gender, and welcoming the intent of the Special
Representative of the Secretary- General on Sexual Violence in
Conflict to visit the Syrian Arab Republic to investigate these
violations and abuses,

Deploring
the
failure of the Syrian authorities to release all arbitrarily detained
persons and grant access to detention centres to relevant
humanitarian organizations with a view to ensuring the humane
treatment of detainees,

Deploring
also
the further deterioration of the humanitarian situation and the
failure to ensure the safe and timely provision of humanitarian
assistance to all areas affected by the fighting,

Expressing
deep concern at
the more than one million refugees and millions of internally
displaced persons who have fled as a result of the extreme violence,

Welcoming
the
efforts by neighbouring countries and other countries in the region
to host Syrian refugees while acknowledging the socioeconomic
consequences of the presence of large-scale refugee populations in
these countries, notably Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, Iraq and Egypt, and
calling upon Member States, based on burden-sharing principles, to
host the Syrian refugees in coordination with the Office of the
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees,

Welcoming
also the
contributions to humanitarian efforts already provided by Member
States, notably by regional countries, and recalling the urgent need
to provide financial support to the Syrian humanitarian response plan
and the regional refugee response,

Expressing
its determination to
seek ways and means to provide protection to the Syrian civilian
population,

Expressing
grave concern at
the threat by the Syrian authorities to use chemical or biological
weapons and at allegations of reported use of such weapons, and
welcoming the decision of the Secretary-General to investigate all
allegations of their use in the Syrian Arab Republic,

Stressing
that
rapid progress on a political transition represents the best
opportunity to resolve the situation in the Syrian Arab Republic
peacefully, reaffirming its support for the engagement of the
Secretary-General, the Joint Special Representative of the United
Nations and the League of Arab States and all diplomatic efforts
aimed at reaching a political solution to the crisis, reaffirming
also the role of regional and subregional organizations in the
maintenance of international peace and security as set out in Chapter
VIII of the Charter of the United Nations, and welcoming the relevant
resolutions of the League of Arab States to address the situation in
the Syrian Arab Republic,

Recalling
all
meetings of the Group of Friends of the Syrian people, in particular
the fourth Ministerial Meeting, held in Marrakech, Morocco, on 12
December 2012, where the participants acknowledged the National
Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces as the
legitimate representative of the Syrian people,

Reaffirming
its
strong commitment to the sovereignty, independence, unity and
territorial integrity of the Syrian Arab Republic and to the
principles of the Charter of the United Nations,

Recalling
that
all Members of the United Nations shall refrain in their
international relations from the threat or use of force against the
territorial integrity or political independence of any State, or in
any other manner inconsistent with the purposes of the United
Nations,

Reaffirming
the
purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations, the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights8 and relevant international
human rights law, including the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights,9 and recalling the obligation of the Syrian Arab
Republic to protect human rights and fundamental freedoms,

International
humanitarian law and human rights

1. Strongly
condemns the
continued escalation in the use by the Syrian authorities of heavy
weapons, including indiscriminate shelling from tanks and aircraft,
and the use of ballistic missiles and other indiscriminate weapons
against population centres, as well as the use of cluster munitions;

2. Strongly
condemns all
violations of international humanitarian law and the continued
widespread and systematic gross violations of human rights and
fundamental freedoms by the Syrian authorities and the
Government-affiliated shabbiha
militias,
such as those involving the use of heavy weapons, aerial bombardments
and other force against civilians, attacks on schools, hospitals and
places of worship, massacres, arbitrary executions, extrajudicial
killings, the killing and persecution of protestors, human rights
defenders and journalists, arbitrary detention, enforced
disappearances, violations of the right of the child, including the
recruitment and use of children in the conduct of hostilities in
violation of international law, unlawful interference with access to
medical treatment, failure to respect and protect medical personnel,
torture, systematic sexual violence, including rape in detention, and
ill-treatment, including against children, as well as any human
rights abuses or violations of international humanitarian law by
anti-Government armed groups;

3. Condemns
all
violence, irrespective of where it comes from, and calls upon all
parties to immediately put an end to all forms of violence, including
terrorist acts and acts of violence or intimidation that may foment
sectarian tensions, and to comply strictly with their obligations
under international law, including international humanitarian law;

4. Demands
that
all parties immediately put an end to all violations of international
humanitarian law, including those involving attacks against
civilians, also demands that the Syrian authorities immediately end
all violations of international human rights law and meet their
responsibility to protect the population and comply fully with their
obligations under applicable international law, including
international law applicable to the rights and protection of women
and girls, and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, calls upon
all parties to the conflict to issue clear orders against sexual
violence through their respective chains of command and to undertake
investigations to hold perpetrators of sexual violence to account,
also calls upon all parties to facilitate the immediate access for
survivors of sexual violence to available services, and urges donors
to support services that address the health, psychosocial and
protection needs of survivors;

5. Demands
that
the Syrian authorities immediately release all persons arbitrarily
detained, including the members of the Syrian Centre for Media and
Freedom of Expression, publish a list of all detention facilities,
ensure that conditions of detention comply with applicable
international law, and immediately allow access of independent
monitors to all detention facilities;

6. Strongly
condemns the
shelling as well as the shooting by the Syrian armed forces into
neighbouring countries, which led to casualties and injuries of the
civilians of those countries as well as of Syrian refugees,
underlines that such incidents violated international law, stresses
the grave threat of the crisis in the Syrian Arab Republic on the
security of its neighbours and on regional peace and stability, as
well as its grave implications for international peace and security,
and calls upon the Syrian Government to respect the sovereignty of
neighbouring States and meet its international obligations in this
regard;

7. Demands
that
the Syrian authorities grant the independent international commission
of inquiry and individuals working on its behalf immediate, full and
unfettered entry and access to all areas of the Syrian Arab Republic,
and also demands that all parties cooperate fully with the commission
of inquiry in the performance of its mandate to investigate all
alleged violations of international human rights law since March
2011, as well as with other United Nations special procedures, and
invites the commission of inquiry to brief the General Assembly on
the situation of human rights in the Syrian Arab Republic;

8. Stresses
again the
importance of ensuring accountability and the need to end impunity
and hold to account all those responsible for serious violations of
international humanitarian law and serious violations and abuses of
international human rights law, including those that may amount to
war crimes and crimes against humanity, as recommended by the United
Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights;

9. Encourages
the
Security Council to consider appropriate measures in this regard;

10. Underlines
the
importance that the Syrian people, on the basis of broad, inclusive
and credible consultations, should determine, within the framework
provided by international law and based upon the complementarity
principle, the domestic process and mechanisms to achieve
reconciliation, truth and accountability for gross violations, as
well as reparations and effective remedies for the victims;

11.
Demands
that
the Syrian authorities strictly observe their obligations under
international law with respect to chemical and biological weapons,
including Security Council resolution 1540 (2004) and the Protocol
for the Prohibition of the Use in War of Asphyxiating, Poisonous or
Other Gases, and of Bacteriological Methods of Warfare, signed at
Geneva on 17 June 1925,10 and also demands that the Syrian
authorities refrain from using or transferring to non-State actors
any chemical and biological weapons or any related material, and that
the Syrian authorities meet their obligations to account for and to
secure all chemical and biological weapons and any related material;

12. Also
demands that
the Syrian authorities grant full and unfettered access to the
investigation of the Secretary-General into all alleged uses of
chemical weapons, and calls upon all parties to cooperate with the
investigation;

Humanitarian
situation

13.
Deplores
the
deteriorating humanitarian situation and the failure to ensure the
safe and timely provision of humanitarian assistance to all areas
affected by the fighting;

14. Reiterates
its call upon the
Syrian authorities to immediately and fully implement the agreed
humanitarian response plan, and for all parties to the conflict to
grant immediate, safe, full and unimpeded access of humanitarian
personnel to all populations in need of assistance in all parts of
the Syrian Arab Republic, in particular to medical facilities, and
calls upon those parties to cooperate fully with the United Nations
and relevant humanitarian organizations to facilitate the provision
of humanitarian assistance through the most effective routes;

15. Demands
that
the Syrian authorities facilitate the access of humanitarian
organizations to all people in need through the most effective
routes, including by providing authorization for cross-border
humanitarian operations as an urgent priority, and encourages all
parties in the Syrian Arab Republic to facilitate the delivery of
assistance in areas under their control, including across conflict
lines, in order to implement fully the humanitarian response plan;

16.
Strongly
condemns all
attacks and threats of violence against humanitarian and medical
personnel and against medical facilities and vehicles, in violation
of international law, and the use of medical civilian facilities,
including hospitals, for armed purposes, and calls for all medical
facilities to be free of weapons, including heavy weapons, consistent
with applicable international law;

17. Condemns
all
attacks on, detentions of and threats of violence against United
Nations personnel, and calls upon all parties in this regard to
respect the human rights, privileges and immunities of United Nations
and other personnel carrying out activities in fulfilment of the
mandate of a United Nations operation;

18.
Expresses
grave concern at
the increasing numbers of refugees and internally displaced persons
as a result of the ongoing violence, which could undermine the
capacities of the neighbouring countries to provide Syrian refugees
with adequate humanitarian needs;

19. Reiterates
its appreciation of
the significant efforts that have been made by neighbouring countries
and the countries of the region to assist those who have fled across
the borders of the Syrian Arab Republic as a consequence of the
violence, and urges all relevant United Nations agencies, in
particular the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees, and other donors and humanitarian actors to provide urgent
and coordinated support to Syrian refugees and their host countries;

20. Welcomes
the
hosting by the Government of Kuwait on 30 January of the pledging
conference for the United Nations Joint Appeal;

21.
Requests
the
Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced
persons, in cooperation with the Secretariat, to submit a written
report to the General Assembly, within 90 days on the very dire
situation of internally displaced persons in the Syrian Arab Republic
in terms of safety and their basic rights and livelihoods, and to
provide recommendations with a view to meeting assistance and
protection needs and strengthening the effectiveness of the
international response to displacement;

22. Urges
the
international community to provide urgent financial support to the
host countries to enable them to respond to the growing humanitarian
needs of Syrian refugees and affected communities, and to consider
addressing the refugee issue through appropriate means and measures,
in accordance with the principle of burden-sharing;

23. Urges
all
donors to provide expeditiously financial support in the context of
the humanitarian response plan and the regional refugee response plan
to United Nations and international humanitarian organizations, as
well as the host countries, so that they can implement more actively
the humanitarian response plan inside the country;

24. Calls
upon Member
States to provide all support to the Syrian people, and encourages
Member States to contribute to the United Nations humanitarian
response efforts;

Political
transition

25.
Reiterates
its call for an
inclusive Syrian-led political transition to a democratic,
pluralistic political system, in which citizens are equal regardless
of their affiliations, ethnicities or beliefs, including through the
commencement of a serious political dialogue between credible,
empowered and mutually acceptable interlocutors representing the
Syrian authorities and the Syrian opposition;

26.
Welcomes
the
establishment of the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and
Opposition Forces on 11 November 2012 in Doha as effective
representative interlocutors needed for a political transition, as
well as its commitment, expressed in its communiqués dated 15 and 23
February and 20 April 2013, to the principle of a political
transition leading to a civil, democratic and pluralistic Syrian Arab
Republic, where all citizens are equal regardless of gender, religion
or ethnicity, and notes the wide international acknowledgement,
notably at the fourth Ministerial Meeting of the Group of Friends of
the Syrian people, of the Coalition as the legitimate representative
of the Syrian people;

27.
Welcomes
the
efforts of the League of Arab States towards a political resolution
of the situation in the Syrian Arab Republic, and its relevant
resolutions in this regard;

28. Reaffirms
its
support for the mission of the Joint Special Representative of the
United Nations and the League of Arab States, and demands in this
regard that all Syrian parties work with his office to implement
rapidly the transition plan set forth in the final communiqué issued
by the Action Group for Syria on 30 June 2012, in a way that assures
the safety of all in an atmosphere of stability and calm, provides
for clear and irreversible steps in the transition according to a
fixed time frame and establishes a consensus transitional governing
body with full executive powers to which all functions of the
presidency and Government are transferred,

including
those pertaining to military, security and intelligence issues, as
well as a review of the constitution on the basis of an inclusive
national dialogue and free and fair multiparty elections held in the
framework of this new constitutional order;

29. Requests
the
Secretary-General to provide support and assistance for the
implementation of the transition plan set forth in the final
communiqué of the Action Group for Syria, and encourages Member
States to provide active diplomatic support in this regard;

30. Requests
that
the Secretary-General, working in close coordination with
international financial institutions, relevant regional and
international organizations, including the League of Arab States,
other relevant international actors and Syrian representatives,
initiate planning to provide support and assistance to Syrian-led
transition and be granted appropriate resources in this regard;

31.
Requests
the
Secretary-General to report within 30 days on the implementation of
the present resolution.

Saturday, May 4, 2013

Proposed draft General Assembly resolution on the situation in
Syria – REV3REV4

Agenda item 34

Prevention of armed conflict

The
situation in the Syrian Arab Republic

PP1 Recalling its resolutions 66/176 of 19 December 2011,
66/253 A of 16 February 2012 66/253 B of 3 August 2012, and 67/183 of 20
December 2012, and Human Rights Council resolutions S 16/1 of 29 April
2011, S 17/1 of 23 August 2011,3 S 18/1
of 2 December 2011, 19/1 of 1 March
2012, 19/22 of 23 March 2012,5 S 19/1 of 1 June 2012, 20/22 of 6 July 2012, 21/26 of 28 September
2012, and 22/3124 of 22
March 2013,

PP2 Recalling also Security Council resolutions 2042 (2012)
of 14 April 2012 and 2043 (2012) of 21 April 2012,

PP3 Recalling
further all resolutions of the League of Arab States relating to
the situation in the Syrian Arab Republic, in particular resolution 7595 of 6 March 2013, in which the League reviewed the
very serious situation in the Syrian Arab Republic due to the escalating
violence and killings in most of the Syrian territory, and the continuation of
grave violations of human rights by the Syrian authorities using heavy weapons,
warplanes and Scud missiles to bomb neighbourhoods and populated areas, which
has seriously increased the number of victims, caused human displacement inside
the Syrian Arab Republic and an influx of thousands of Syrians to the
neighbouring countries fleeing violence, which targets children and women who
have been subjected to frightful massacres, threatening thus to lead to the
collapse of the Syrian State, and endangers the security, peace and stability
of the region,

PP4 Recalling
also all relevant resolutions of the Organization of
Islamic Cooperation on the situation in the Syrian Arab Republic, in particular
resolution 2/4 EX (IS) of 15 August 2012 in which the Organization called for
the immediate implementation of the transitional plan and the development of a
peaceful mechanism that would allow the building of a new Syrian State based on
pluralism and a democratic and civilian system, where there would be equality
on the basis of law, citizenship and fundamental freedoms,

Recalling also Organization
of Islamic Cooperation resolution 2/4-EX (IS) of 15 August 2012 on the
situation in the Syrian Arab Republic, in which the Organization called for the immediate
implementation of the transitional plan and the development of a peaceful mechanism that
would allow the building of a new Syrian State based on pluralism and a
democratic and civilian system, where there would be equality on the basis of
law, citizenship and fundamental freedoms,

PP5 Expressing grave concernregarding
theat the continuing
escalation of violence in the Syrian Arab Republic, in particular the continued
widespread and systematic gross violations, as well as abuses, of human rights
and violations of international humanitarian law, including those involving the
continued use of heavy weapons and aerial bombardments, such as the indiscriminant
use of ballistic missiles and cluster munitions, by the Syrian authorities
against the Syrian population, and the failure of the Government of the Syrian
Arab Republic to protect its population,

PP6 Expressing outrage at the rapidly increasing death toll
of at least 70,000 casualties in the Syrian Arab Republic as reported by the
High Commissioner for Human Rights on 12 February 2013,

PP7 Recalling the statements made by the United Nations High
Commissioner for Human Rights before the Human Rights Council and the Security
Council that crimes against humanity are likely to have been committed in the
Syrian Arab Republic, stressing that the Syrian authorities have failed
to prosecute such serious violations, and noting the repeated
encouragement by the High Commissioner to the Security Council to refer the
situation to the International Criminal Court,

PP8 Welcoming the extension of the mandate of the
International independent commission of inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic and deeply regretting the lack of cooperation of the Government of the
Syrian Arab Republic with the commission,, in particular the persistent denial
of access to its members to the Syrian Arab Republic,

PP9 Expressing concern at the occurrence of grave violations
against children in the Syrian Arab Republic, that children were among the
victims of military operations carried out by Government forces, including the
Syrian armed forces, intelligence forces and shabbiha militias, and that
children were victims of killing and maiming, arbitrary arrest, detention,
torture, ill treatment, sexual violence, and used as human shields, as well as recruited
and used in the conduct of hostilities in violation of international law, and welcoming
the intent of the Special Representative of the Secretary General for children
in armed conflict to pay a second visit to the region, demanding that
all parties grant her full and unfettered access to all areas in the Syrian
Arab Republic, and calling on neighboring countries to provide her with
all necessary assistance,

PP10 Expressing concern at the vulnerable situation of women in
Syria, including being subjected to discrimination, sexual and other physical
abuse, violation of their privacy and arbitrary arrest and detention in raids,
including to force their male relatives to surrender, recalling that
such acts of sexual and gender-based violence could amount to war crimes and
crimes against humanity [SG report on sexual violence], underlining
the importance of preventing all sexual violence and violence based on gender,
and welcoming the intent of the Special Representative of the Secretary
General for Sexual Violence in Armed Conflict to visit the Syrian Arab Republic
to investigate these violations and abuses,

PP11 Deploring also the failure of the Syrian authorities to
release all arbitrarily detained persons and grant access to detention centers
to relevant humanitarian organizations with a view toward ensuring humane
treatment of detainees;

PP12 Deploring the further deterioration of the humanitarian
situation and the failure to ensure the safe and timely provision of
humanitarian assistance to all areas affected by the fighting,

PP13 Expressing deep concern
at the more than one million refugees and millions of internally displaced
persons fleeing as a result of the extreme violence,

PP14 Welcoming the efforts
by neighboring countries and other countries in the region to host Syrian
refugees while acknowledging the socioeconomic consequences of the presence of
large-scale refugee populations in these countries, notably Jordan, Lebanon,
Turkey, Iraq, and Egypt, and calling member states, based on burden
sharing principles, to host the Syrian refugees in coordination with the UNHCR,

PP15 Welcoming the
contributions to humanitarian efforts already provided by member states, and
notably by regional countries, while recalling the urgent need to
provide financial support to the Syrian Humanitarian Response Plan and the
Regional Refugee Response,

PP16 Expressing its determination to seek ways and means to
provide protection to the Syrian civilian population,

PP17 Expressing grave concern at the threat by the Syrian
authorities to use chemical or biological weapons, as well as at allegations of
reported use of such weapons, and welcoming
the Secretary-General’s decision to investigate all allegations of their use in the Syrian Arab
Republic,

PP18 Stressing that rapid progress on a political transition
represents the best opportunity to resolve the situation in the Syrian Arab
Republic peacefully, and reaffirming
its support for the engagement of the Secretary-General, the Joint Special
Representative of the United Nations and the League of Arab States, and all
diplomatic efforts aimed at reaching a political solution to the crisis,
reaffirming also the role of regional and subregional organizations in the
maintenance of international peace and security, as set out in Chapter VIII of
the Charter, and welcoming the relevant resolutions of the League of Arab
States to address the situation in the Syrian Arab Republic,

PP19 Recalling also all meetings of the
group of friends of the Syrian people, in particular the fourth Ministerial
Meeting held in Marrakech on 12 December 2012, where the National Coalition for
Syrian Revolutionary and opposition Forces was acknowledged as the legitimate representative
of the Syrian people,

PP20 Reaffirming its strong commitment to the sovereignty,
independence, unity and territorial integrity of the Syrian Arab Republic and
to the principles of the Charter of the United Nations,

PP21 Recalling that all Members of the
United Nations shall refrain in their international relations from the threat
or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of
any State, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations,

PP22 Reaffirming the purposes and principles of the Charter,
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and relevant international human
rights law, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,
and recalling the obligation of the Syrian Arab Republic to protect human
rights and fundamental freedoms,

INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN LAW AND HUMAN RIGHTS

1.
Strongly condemns the continued escalation in the use by the Syrian
authorities of heavy weapons, including indiscriminate shelling from tanks and
aircrafts, as well as the use of ballistic missiles, and other indiscriminate
weapons, against population centres, as well as the use of cluster munitions;

2. Strongly
condemns all violations of international humanitarian law and the continued
widespread and systematic gross violations of human rights and fundamental
freedoms by the Syrian authorities and the Government affiliated shabbiha
militias, such as those involving the use of heavy weapons, aerial bombardments
and other force against civilians, attacks on schools, hospitals and places of worship, massacres,
arbitrary executions, extrajudicial killings, the killing and persecution of
protestors, human rights defenders and journalists, arbitrary detention,
enforced disappearances, violations of the right of the child, including
recruitment and use of children in the conduct of hostilities in violation of
international law, unlawful interference with access to medical treatment, failure
to respect and protect medical personnel, torture, systematic sexual violence,
including rape in detention, and ill treatment, including against children, as
well as any human rights abuses or violations of international humanitarian law
by anti-Government armed groups;

3. Condemns
also all violence, irrespective of where it comes from, and calls
upon all parties toimmediately
put an end to all forms of violence, including terrorist acts and acts of
violence or intimidation that may foment sectarian tensions, and to comply
strictly with their obligations under international law, including
international humanitarian law;

4. Demands
all parties immediately to put an end to all violations of international
humanitarian law, including those involving attacks against civilians, further
demands that the Syrian authorities end immediately all violations of
international human rights law, and meet its responsibility to protect the
population and to fully comply with their obligations under applicable
international law, including international law applicable to the rights and
protection of women and girls as well as the Convention on the Right of the
child, calls upon all parties to the conflict to issue clear orders
against sexual violence through their respective chains of command and to
undertake investigations to hold perpetrators of sexual violence to account,
and call upon all parties to the conflict to facilitate immediate access for
survivors of sexual violence to available services; and, urge donors to support
services that address the health, psychosocial and protection needs of
survivors;

5. Demands
the Syrian authorities to release immediately all persons arbitrarily
detained, including the members of the Syrian Centre for Media and Freedom of
Expression, to publish a list of all detention facilities, to ensure that
conditions of detention comply with applicable international law and to
immediately allow access of independent monitors to all detention facilities;

6. Strongly
condemns the shelling as well as the shooting by the Syrian armed forces
into neighbouring countries, which led to casualties and injuries of the
civilians of those countries as well as of Syrian refugees, and underlines
that such incidents violated international law, stresses the grave threat
of the crisis in the Syrian Arab Republic on the security of its neighbours and
on regional peace and stability, as well as its grave implications for
international peace and security, and calls upon the Syrian government
to respect the sovereignty of neighboring states and meet its international
obligations in this regard;

7. Demands
that the Syrian authorities grant the International independent commission of
inquiry and individuals working on its behalf immediate, full and unfettered
entry and access to all areas of the Syrian Arab Republic, and demands also
that all parties cooperate fully with the commission of inquiry in the
performance of its mandate to investigate all alleged violations of
international human rights law since March 2011, as well as with other UN
special procedures, and invites the Commission of Inquiry to brief the
General Assembly on the situation of human rights in the Syrian Arab Republic;

8. Stresses again the importance of
ensuring accountability and the need to end impunity and hold to account all
those responsible for serious violations of international humanitarian law and
serious violations and abuses of international human rights law, including
those that may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity, as recommended
by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights;

9. Encourages the
Security Council to consider appropriate measures in this regard;

9.bis.
Underscores further the importance that the Syrian people, on the basis of
broad, inclusive and credible consultations, should determine, within the
framework provided by international law and based up on the complementarity
principle, the domestic process and mechanisms to achieve reconciliation, truth
and accountability for gross violations, as well as reparations and effective
remedies for the victims;

10. Demands
that the Syrian authorities strictly observe their obligations under
international law with respect to chemical and biological weapons, including
Security Council resolution 1540 (2004) and the Protocol for the Prohibition of
Asphyxiating, Poisonous or Other Gases, and of Bacteriological Methods of
Warfare, signed at Geneva on 17 June 1925 and further demands that the Syrian
authorities refrain from using, or transferring to non-State actors, any
chemical and biological weapons, or any related material, and that the Syrian
authorities meet their obligations to account for and to secure all chemical
and biological weapons and any related material;

11. Further demands that
the Syrian authorities grant full and unfettered access to the
Secretary-General’s investigation into all alleged use of chemical weapons and calls
on all parties to cooperate with the investigation;

HUMANITARIAN SITUATION

12. Deplores
the deteriorating humanitarian situation and the failure to ensure safe and
timely provision of humanitarian assistance to all areas affected by the
fighting;

13. Reiterates its call upon the Syrian authorities to immediately and fully
implement the agreed humanitarian response plan, and for all parties to the
conflict to grant immediate, safe, full and unimpeded access of humanitarian
personnel to all populations in need of assistance in all parts of Syria, in
particular to medical facilities, and calls upon those parties to
cooperate fully with the United Nations and relevant humanitarian organizations
to facilitate the provision of humanitarian assistance through the most
effectives routes;

14. Demands
the Syrian authorities to facilitate access of humanitarian organizations to
all people in need through the most efficient routes, including by providing authorization
for cross-border humanitarian operations as an urgent priority, and encourages
all parties in Syria to facilitate the delivery of assistance in areas under
their control, including across conflict lines, in order to implement fully the
Syria Humanitarian Assistance Response plan;

15. Strongly
condemns all attacks and threats of violence against humanitarian and medical
personnel, as well as medical facilities and vehicles, in violation of
international law, as well as the use of medical civilian facilities, including
hospitals, for armed purposes, and calls for all medical facilities to
be free of weapons, including heavy weapons, consistent with applicable
international law;

16.
Also condemns all attacks on,
detentions of, and threats of violence against, UN personnel, and recalls allpartiesin this regard to respect the human rights, privileges and
immunities of United Nations and other personnel carrying out activities in
fulfillment of the mandate of a United Nations operation;

17. Expresses
grave concern at the increasing numbers of refugees and internally displaced
persons as a result of the ongoing violence, which could undermine the
capacities of the neighboring countries in providing the Syrian refugees with
adequate humanitarian needs;

18. Reiterates
its appreciation of the significant efforts that have been made by neighboring
countries and the countries of the region to assist those who have fled across
the borders of the Syrian Arab Republic as a consequence of the violence, and
urges all relevant United Nations agencies, in particular the Office of the
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, and other donors and
humanitarian actors to provide urgent and coordinated support to Syrian refugees
and their host countries;

19. Welcomes
the Government of Kuwait’s hosting of the January 30 pledging conference for
the UN Joint Appeal;

20. Requests the Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons,
in cooperation with the Secretariat, to report to the General Assembly,
within 60 days, on the very dire situation of internally displaced persons
in the Syrian Arab Republic in terms of safety, and their basic rights and
livelihood, and provide recommendations with a view to meeting assistance and
protection needs and strengthening the effectiveness of the international
response to displacement;

21. Urges
the international community to provide urgent financial support to the host
countries to enable them to respond to the growing humanitarian needs of Syrian
refugees and affected communities, as well as to consider addressing the
refugee issue through appropriate means and measures, while emphasizing the
principle of burden sharing;

22. Urges
also all donors to provide expeditiously financial support in the context
of the Syria Humanitarian Response Plan and the Regional Refugee Response Plan
to UN and international humanitarian organizations, as well as the host
countries, so that they can implement more actively the humanitarian response
plan inside the country;

23. Calls upon Member States to provide all support to the Syrian people,
and encourages Member States to contribute to the United Nations humanitarian
response efforts;

POLITICAL
TRANSITION

24. Reiterates
its call for an inclusive Syrian-led political transition to a democratic,
pluralistic political system, in which citizens are equal regardless of their
affiliations or ethnicities or beliefs, including through the commencement of a
serious political dialogue between credible, empowered, and mutually acceptable interlocutors representing the Syrian
authorities and the Syrian opposition;

25. Welcomes the establishment of the National Coalition of
the Syrian Revolution and Opposition Forces on 11 November 2012 in Doha, State
of Qatar, notes the wide international acknowledgement of the Coalition
as the legitimate representative of the Syrian people, and welcomes the
communiqué issued by the Coalition on February 15 and 23, 2013, which endorsed
the principle of a political transition leading to a civil democratic, and
pluralistic Syria, where all citizens are equal regardless of gender, religion,
or ethnicity;

26. Welcomes the efforts of the League of
Arab States towards a political resolution of the situation in the Syrian Arab
Republic and supports welcomes
all relevant League of Arab States resolutions in
this regard;

27. Reaffirms
its support for the mission of the Joint Special Representative of the United
Nations and the League of Arab States to Syria, and demands, in this
regard, that all Syrian parties work with his Office to implement rapidly the
transition plan set forth in the final communiqué issued by the Action Group
for Syria on 30 June 2012,in a way that marks a clean break with the past,
assures the safety of all in an atmosphere of stability and calm, notably
through the establishment of a consensus transitional governing body with full
executive powers in which all functions of the Presidency and Government,
including those pertaining to military, security, and intelligence issues, are
transferred to this body, a review of the Constitution on the basis of an
inclusive national dialogue, and free and fair multiparty elections held in the
framework of this new constitutional order;

28. Requests
the Secretary-General to provide support and assistance to the implementation
of the transition plan set forth in the final communiqué of the Action Group
for Syria, and encourages Member
States to provide active diplomatic support in this regard;

29. Requests that the Secretary-General,
working in close co-ordination with international financial institutions, relevant
regional and international organizations, including League of Arab States,
other relevant international actors, and representatives of the Syrian people,
initiate planning to provide support and assistance to Syrian-led transition
planning, and be granted appropriate resources in this regard;

30. Requests
the Secretary-General to report within thirty days on the implementation of the
present resolution.